The invention relates to a car parking system, a method of controlling a car park and a control apparatus for a car park.
Current car parking installations cater predominantly for two types of users: 1) permanent users who are users who tend to have a reserved car parking space within the car park and can access the car park at any time and 2) casual users who are using the car park on a casual basis and use unreserved car parking spaces.
Many car parks offer both casual and permanent parking. At such car parks, the entry gate usually has a card reader for reading a card assigned to a permanent user of the car park and a ticket printer for printing a ticket for a casual user. A successful read of a card of a permanent user or the printing of a ticket will cause the entry barrier to open to allow the user to enter the car park.
An intercom is also usually provided at the entrance to allow a user to speak to a car park attendant located on site in order to obtain assistance. For example, if the user's card does not read properly or the ticket machine is broken.
The card reader and ticket printer are connected to a barrier controller by hard-wired connections which make current apparatus expensive to install in the car park.
It is also necessary to provide a number of pay stations capable of accepting payment by cash and/or credit card in order to allow casual users to validate their tickets. Usually, security guards are employed in order to clear out the cash boxes of each of the pay stations on a periodic basis.
At the exit, there is also provided a card reader for reading permanent cards and a ticket reader for reading tickets to determine whether they have been validated. Upon presentation of a valid ticket or a permanent card, the exit gate is opened allowing for egress of the user's vehicle. Again, at the exit, there is need to provide an intercom for users requiring assistance. Similar wiring considerations apply at the exit as at the entrance.
With the above traditional parking systems in mind, there is a need for alternative types of parking systems.